Reintroduction after a long "hiatus"
I figured since I've been back posting a bit after about a 3 year absence, I would give those of you who care an update on my situation now, since it is vastly different than it was when I was last here.
When I "left" PT, I was enrolled in vet tech school, married, living with my in-laws with their pets as well as my own (Jamie and Charlie, two Aussies, and my two kitties Shelly and Double-Oh, along with my Russian Tortoise Leo).
Now I am divorced, living with my incredible boyfriend of 1 1/2 years that I've known close to 11-12 years or so now (longer than my ex!); he lived in Southern Alabama (12+ hours away) but moved up here to be with me last year.
Charlie, Double-Oh, Shelly, and Leo are all currently living with my ex. At the time of our separation, I went to live with my parents and I didn't want to inconvenience them more than I already was by moving back home with a horde of animals in tow, so I took the least intrusive pet with me - Charlie. After about a year of living at my parents, a scuffle broke out between my sisters' dogs and Charlie (It's still very unclear what happened as I didn't witness it, only the aftermath), and Charlie was attacked and bleeding everywhere. Thankfully it was my day off from work, so I drove him up to work and we had to sedate and stitch him up. Here he is a few days later on the mend, there are MANY lacerations you can't see in this pic but this gives you a good idea.
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Somewhere in that time frame, too, I adopted a stray feral kitty that came in to work. She was TERRIFIED at first, and wouldn't come out of my bedroom closet. Over time, though, she slowly warmed up to me and we became inseparable. My intentions were to foster her, but when I found a home, I just couldn't find it in my heart to give her away. She was, and still is, my heart kitty. Sadly, I lost her at only 1 1/2 years old to congenital kidney failure exasperated by nibbling on an Easter Lily (living with my parents, a friend brought one home as a gift for my parents while I was at work. Both cats in the household nibbled on it, the other was fine, but Sophie.....). Doctors said the amount she ate should NOT have caused both of her kidneys to shut down and she had an underlying congenital problem that was exasperated by the toxin. The 10 months we spent together were the best I could have ever asked for. She came into my life when I was at my lowest (when my ex and I finally decided to divorce), and left when she saw I was in safe hands (when my boyfriend moved up here). Not a day goes by that I don't think about her or miss her sweet cuddles, kisses, and meows.
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On top of that, I also lost my grandmother (who had been living in a hospice-situation at my parents' house also) the same week my ex called our marriage quits.
As time went on, the divorce became more finalized, and I got my own place, I told my ex that I wanted Jamie because the situations worked out better for the pets (he never takes the dogs to the park or on walks; Jamie is more high-energy and Charlie is lazy. Charlie makes a better shop dog with loud noises whereas they freak Jamie out). He threw a fit at first, but eventually gave in (probably because he had ALL THE OTHER PETS :mad: ).
So now I'm living with my dream boyfriend (honestly, I should have dated him from the start!!) and he has been the most amazing dad for Jamie by taking her on runs and walks and to the dog park while I'm at work (he works freelance from home). We also now have two cats, Voltron a brown tabby, and Pretzel a Lynx Point Siamese mix. I graduated school in summer '09, passed national boards [VTNE] and am currently working at a small animal clinic here in town.
It's amazing how your life can appear to be in shambles, but when you look back on it, it was just all a part of the remodeling process for a better life. And as much heartache I went through the past few years, every ounce of it was worth it for where I am today.
Pretzel (left) and Voltron (right):
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Jamie (right) and cousins Juno (left) and Bubba (middle):
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